1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a wall-mounted microwave oven, and more particularly, a wall-mounted microwave oven having an air pipe assembly for air exhaust.
2. Related Art
A wall-mounted microwave oven 1 is generally mounted on the wall over a gas range 50 as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 4. The wall-mounted microwave oven additionally functions as a hood to discharge fumes or smoke generated from the gas range 50 while food is cooked on the gas range 50.
The conventional wall-mounted microwave oven includes a main body 3 having a cavity 4 in which food to be cooked is put and a casing 6 enclosing the main body 3 spaced apart from the casing 6. A magnetron 30 generating microwaves to be supplied into the cavity 4 is installed in a space formed between the main body 3 and the casing 6. The magnetron 30 is supplied with high-voltage current through a high-voltage transformer not shown and a high-voltage condenser not shown. A fan cooling the magnetron 30 is installed adjacent to the magnetron 30.
The casing 6 is comprised of an upper casing 6a enclosing the top and both sides of the main body 3 and a lower casing 6b enclosing the bottom of the main body 3. The space formed between both side walls of the upper casing 6a and the main body 3 constitutes a hood duct 15 functioning as a path for discharging the fumes and smoke generated from the gas range 50 and introduced into the space. A pair of suction ports 8 allowing the fumes and smoke to flow into the hood duct 15 are formed on the lower casing 6b, and a discharge port 9 is formed on the top of the upper casing 6a in order to discharge the fumes and smoke blown into the hood duct. An exhaust pipe 11 is assembled to an outer surface of the discharge ports 9, and is extended to an exhaust path 17 opened toward the outside of the wall.
A hood fan 13 is installed in an upper area of the main body 3 adjacent to the discharge port 9 to discharge the fumes and smoke blown into the hood duct 15 through the suction ports 8 to the outside of the wall-mounted microwave oven 1 through the discharge port 9. On the bottom of the upper casing 6b is installed a hood lamp 55 for illuminating the gas range 50.
Even though a space is formed between the casing 6 and the main body 3 and the hood duct 15, and the casing 6 is spaced-apart from the main body 3, there is no provision for maintaining an airtightness therebetween. Thus, air remaining in a space formed between the casing 6 and the main body 3 or air blown into the magnetron 30 by the fan (not shown) for cooling the magnetron 30 is likely to be drawn into the hood duct 15 when the hood fan 13 operates. The air drawn into the hood duct 15 is discharged to the outside together with the fumes and smoke drawn into the hood duct 15 through the suction ports 8. The fumes and smoke can be blown into the inside of the main body through gaps between the casing and the main body.
Conventionally, the capacity of the hood fan 13 is preset depending upon the amount of air flowing into the hood duct 15 through the suction ports 8. Therefore, where the air remaining between the casing 6 and the main body 3 is drawn into the hood duct 15 and then discharged outside, the amount of air drawn through the suction ports 8 and discharged outside is dependently reduced. Thus, the efficiency of discharging the air through the suction port is lowered.